And Then There Were Three
by Lady Silver B
Summary: **Nothing New, Just Beta-ed Parts 1 & 2** Duo's gonna be a daddy! er....... mommy.......? [yaoi, 1+2, others implied later......]]
1. Default Chapter

It was late when Duo returned to the safehouse from his mission -- very late. The rest of the pilots were asleep, even Heero -- at his laptop -- but asleep all the same. As Duo staggered into their shared room, he could see Heero's lean frame draped over the keyboard.  
  
He stiffly made his way to the bathroom that branched off from their room. He needed a shower, he was dirty, smelly, and hurt like hell, from when.....//No! Don't think about that.....//  
  
He walked into the bathroom and stripped off his ripped and blood stained clothes, throwing them on the floor without a thought. Turning on the water and waiting for it to heat up, he took in his appearance in the vanity mirror. His face was bruised, his lip split and still bleeding sluggishly. His customary braid was half undone, and was matted with blood. Bruises, scratches, and various other abrasions were scattered over his body, and there was a long stitched up gash on his stomach that he didn't remember getting. //God, I look like shit. Aw man, this hair is going to be a bitch in the morning.//  
  
Turning away from the mirror, and stepping into the shower stall, he sighed as the hot water pummeled his body and washed away the grit. After just standing there for a few minutes, he finally started the painstaking task of washing his hair. The blood made it difficult to unbind the rest of the braid, and turned the water to a rusty colour, but he managed it eventually and started to run his fingers through it, untangling the worst of the snags. Finished with this task, he grabbed his shampoo and started to scrub handfuls of it into his hair.  
  
After finishing with his hair, Duo turned his attention to the rest of his body. Grabbing a washcloth and the bar of soap, he lathered up and started to scrub the dried blood from his skin. Running the soapy cloth over the many cuts caused them to sting slightly, but he ignored the irritation and continued.  
  
Finally, after about 30 minutes, the water began to run cold, and he washed off the soap and stepped onto the floor. Grabbing two towels, one for his hair, and the other wrapped around his waist, he sat down on the edge of the tub to check himself for any serious cuts. Finding nothing that need anything more than time to heal, and puzzling over that gash for a moment, before dismissing it, he grabbed a wide toothed comb and brushed out his hair only enough so that he could plait it without causing himself pain.  
  
Walking back out into the room quietly, as to not wake Heero, he searched out his favourite oversized black nightshirt, and climbed into bed. Arranging himself as to not aggravate any of his sores, he pulled the comforter up around him, and was asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. //How am I going to explain this to Heero.....?//  
  
========================================  
  
Heero woke later that night to strange, strangled whimpers coming from Duo's bed //Hn. Musta fell asleep.......Duo?// The American had gone off on a solo mission about a week ago, but wasn't due to return for several more days. He was supposed to infiltrate a laboratory base, collect all the experiment data, and then blow the base up.  
  
As he straightened in his chair he could see Duo thrashing on his bed across the room, only partially covered up, after having kicked off his covers with his movement. The moonlight coming in through the window was reflected off Duo's sweat covered body as his limbs twitched. Then suddenly, the noise stopped, and Duo curled up into a ball on the bed and started to shiver.  
  
Heero moved slowly from his seat at his computer until he was standing beside Duo's bed. Being this close, he could still hear a slight whimper escape from Duo's lips. Heero realized that Duo was in fact trembling, not shivering as he had thought.  
  
Slowly, he reached out a hand to lightly rest on Duo's exposed shoulder, "Duo--"  
  
His query was cut short as Duo suddenly lashed out violently and struck him in the cheek -- hard, sending him back a step. He raised his hand instinctively to his cheek, and looked back to the bed where Duo was staring at him with wide eyes that were filled with surprise and......fear? //Fear........?//  
  
Heero just looked at him with something close to shock, Duo's eyes flew shut and with a despairing wail, he curled up on himself, facing away from Heero, trembling violently with suppressed sobs. Something was definitely wrong......what the hell had happened on that mission anyway?  
  
"Duo?" he asked softly, "Duo, what's wrong?" waiting for an answer from the braided pilot for several moments, and receiving none, Heero tried again, "Duo.....what happened?"  
  
After he had spoken, Duo's trembling was reduced to slight tremors across his frame, and he un-curled ever so slightly. At this silent sign, Heero moved forward again, speaking in low tones, "Duo, its me. Heero. Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you." //God, what happened to him? He looks like he's afraid I'm going to beat him//.  
  
Again, he laid his hand on Duo's shoulder, feeling him tense beneath his touch. Slowly, Heero climbed onto the bed behind Duo, and pulled the shaking boy into his arms, massaging his tense neck and shoulders with one hand, and smoothing the still damp hair with the other. Almost immediately, Duo turned towards him and clung to him tightly, as he finally allowed his tears to fall.  
  
After a while, when it seemed to him that Duo had calmed down enough, Heero quietly inquired again, "Duo, what happened to you? What's wrong?" He didn't ask if Duo was okay, he was no fool, obviously the braided boy was not okay.  
  
"I'm sorry........" Duo whispered faintly, "oh God, I'm sorry....I ...they .........they caught me ........and .......and.........." he choked on a sob as he tried to continue.  
  
"Shhh, Duo, it's okay, you can tell me. Take a deep breath," Heero comforted the boy, rubbing a hand over his back, silently fearing what Duo would say.  
  
Nodding, and taking the suggested deep breath, Duo pulled away slightly, to face Heero, and started again, "The first night I went to the base, I thought something was up, it was way too easy to gain access, it was almost like they were waiting for me to come. Turns out they were," taking another deep breath, he continued, "After rigging up the C-4, I went to the lab to find the documents I was after, but when I walked into the room, a group of soldiers jumped me from behind. Before I knew what was happening, they had me pinned on the floor, and .....and a doctor injected me with something," he stopped there, taking a couple more deep breaths to calm himself.  
  
"I ....I don't know what he gave me, but it put me out cold. When I woke up, I was groggy, and sore," here he touched his abdomen lightly, "the same doctor with the needle was there, with others. They all crowded around me when I woke up, writing stuff down and reading the monitors that were attached to me. Then that same doc injected something into the IV, and I was out again," another breath, and he looked away from Heero as he continued, "The next time I woke up, I wasn't in a bed any more, I was in a cell, on my stomach, chained in place. I tried to get free, but .....but, they injected me with a tranquilizer .....and .....and then .......then they .......they .......raped me......" the last was whispered so faintly that Heero had to strain to catch the words.  
  
He wished he hadn't though, he looked at Duo in shock. Duo wouldn't meet his eyes, and after a moment he tried to pull away, but Heero wasn't ready to let go quite yet. He pulled Duo back towards him, and encircled the American in his strong arms, and, after a second, Duo buried his face in Heero's shoulder and clung to him tightly.  
  
"Oh Duo, I'm so sorry," he mumbled into the braided pilot's hair.  
  
"A ...after, they untied me and put me into some sort of ....of, observation room, then left. I guess they didn't think I could do anything doped up as I was, but they don't know me," here Duo offered a weak laugh, "the drugs wore off, and I escaped, then blew them all sky high!"  
  
Heero pushed Duo away from him slightly so that he could look him in the face, then asked, "Duo, are you alright? Did ....did they hurt you .......physically?" Heero could not bear the thought of this boy, whom he cared about so deeply, being in any sort of pain as a result of this.  
  
Duo shook his head in response, "No, I'm not hurt, but ......but I can't get it out of my head, could .....could you stay with me tonight? Please Heero?"  
  
"Hai Duo, I'll stay. Just try to sleep now," he responded as he shifted into a more comfortable sleeping position for both of them, with Duo's head cushioned on his chest. Wrapping an arm around Duo's waist, he said softly, "I won't let anyone hurt you again," his vow fell on deaf ears though, for Duo was already fast asleep, curled up on his chest.  
  
============End Part One============  
  



	2. Part 2

The next morning when Duo woke up, he was *extremely* sore. Not only was he sore down there, but his entire body stung and ached, especially that gash. Slowly, gingerly, he sat up. Looking around, he realized that Heero was staring at him from his bed across the room.   
  
"G'morning Heero," he mumbled as he slowly made his way to the bathroom, needing to have a shower to wash the spell of sleep off of him. //Man, I feel like I went through a paper shredder...//   
  
After repeating his actions from the previous night, omitting washing his hair more than running water over it, he grabbed a tube of savlon (TM)[1] , and returned to the bedroom. Sitting on the bed in nothing more than a towel, he had access to most of the scrapes on his body, and applied the cool cream to them.   
  
As he finished up with all of them that he could reach, he turned to Heero, who had been sitting on his bed throughout the display, and asked, "Hey Heero? Could you help me here? I can't reach my back," while turning his back towards Heero and offering the tube.   
  
Without answering verbally, Heero came over to the bed, taking the offered tube, and began to apply it with a gentle touch onto the braided boy's injured back. When he was done with all of the cuts, he said, "Duo, lie down on your stomach,"   
  
"Eh? What for?" Duo replied, confused   
  
"Just do it."   
  
"Okay, okay. I'm going already," he replied as he stretched out on his stomach, with his head cradled in his crossed arms, positioning his towel so that it wouldn't slip off. He tensed a little as Heero replaced his hands on his back, but relaxed almost instantly as he realized what Heero was doing, "Hey man, where'd you learn to give a massage? Feels s'good," Duo almost purred as Heero worked all of the knots out of his shoulders and back with his firm touch.   
  
When Heero finished, Duo was almost asleep again. Jabbing him lightly in the side with one finger, Heero said, "C'mon Duo, don't fall asleep again,"  
  
"Mmmmm, why not? Sleep's good," was the muffled reply from between Duo's arms.   
  
"Not if you want me to brush your hair, it isn't," Heero bargained.   
  
That got the desired effect, and Duo perked right up, "Huh? You'd do that for me? I was just going to leave it, my arms are too sore to hold over my head for that long," he admitted fingering a few stray strands of said hair.   
  
"I know, that's why I offered. Knowing how much you complain when it's not brushed... that, and, well, I wanted to," he admitted, as he walked back over to the bed from where he had gone to retrieve the brush, "Turn around, and move to the end of the bed," he commanded as he climbed onto the bed.   
  
"Okie dokie smokie, whatever you say" Duo replied, unwrapping his hair from the towel as he moved. This movement caused the towel around his waste to slip low, revealing the gash to Heero, who alerted Duo to this with a sharp intake of breath.   
  
"Duo, what's that from? You haven't been back long enough to have stitched it up and have it almost healed like that," he asked while lightly running a finger along the mark on Duo's abdomen.   
  
"I... I don't know what it's from, when I got back here last night I noticed it. I don't know what it's from, and in all honesty, unless it's like life threatening or something, I don't wanna know," he concluded as he hitched up the towel and turned his back once more towards Heero. "If you're going to brush my hair, you should probably do it now before it dries any more," Duo said, clearly indicating the end of that particular topic.   
  
"Yeah, sure Duo. Whatever you say," Heero gave in, not pushing an obviously sensitive subject, and preceded to gently work all of the knots out of Duo's long mane of hair until he could run the brush all the way through without catching on any snags. Then he divided it into sections, and slowly, but efficiently plaited it into Duo's customary braid, tying it off with a black tie from around the handle of the brush.   
  
Getting up from the bed, Heero replaced the brush onto the dresser where he'd gotten it, and turned back around, "You gonna get dressed or what?"   
  
"Hmmmmmm, maybe I'll just relax for a bit..." Duo told him, giving a fake yawn, and stretching as much as his injuries would allow.   
  
"Suit yourself. I'm going into town for supplies, see ya later Duo," Heero told him as he walked out the door into the hallway and closing the door behind him. He didn't move to walk down the hall though, and counted silently in his head //5 ... 4 ... 3 ... 2 ... 1 ...//   
  
Right on schedule, the door flung open to reveal Duo, wearing a red turtleneck, and trying to pull on a pair of black jeans while walking, and yelling "Hold up a minute man! Why didn't you tell me you were going to town? Didn'tcha consider that I might need some air?"   
  
Grabbing Duo's arm as the pilot stumbled, and steadying the American while he pulled his pants on the rest of the way, Heero smirked at him.   
  
"Hn. Hurry up then, I won't wait for you," and with that he released Duo's arm, almost causing him to fall over, and sprinted down the hallway towards the front door.   
  
"Heeroooooo! Don't you dare leave without me!" Duo's cry echoed through the house as Duo took off after him, picking up his shoes on the way, and slamming the door behind him.   
  
========================================   
  
A couple of months later, with all five pilots at a new safehouse, Duo got sick, and with a sick Duo in the house, everyone was tense.   
  
"Hellooooooo? Can anyone hear me?!?!" Duo called from his and Heero's room one morning, where he had cocooned himself on the bed with every blanket he could find. There was a loud thump, then a bang as the bathroom door was flung open.   
  
Heero and Quatre, the only one's home at the time, came running into the room when they heard the noise. Looking around, they spotted Duo on the floor in the bathroom, retching into the toilet.   
  
"Hey Duo?" Quatre asked tentatively from the doorway, when Duo sat back on his heels, "Are you okay in there?"   
  
"OKAY?! Do I look like I'm 'okay' to you?!?" Duo snapped irritably, as he hauled himself to his feet. Going to the sink, he took a drink of water and started to gurgle. Spitting into the sink, he continued, "Sorry Q-man, didn't mean to snap at ya. I dunno, I'm just feelin' funny,"   
  
"Duo, get some clothes on, I'll take you to the hospital, they'll tell us what's wrong with you," Heero spoke for the first time, throwing Duo his jeans, "And *no* arguing," he added as Duo opened his mouth, prepared to object.  
  
"I'll stay here in case Trowa and WuFei come back. They'll probably want to know what's going on," Quatre said as Duo made his way out of the bathroom.   
  
"Hn. Good idea," Heero told him as Duo searched out a clean shirt to wear, "We shouldn't be all that long, we'll call if anything comes up. Come on Duo, let's go," he called to the braided boy who was putting on his socks.   
  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm coming, hold your horses," he said as he jumped up off the bed. That movement was too much for him, though, and sent him flying back to the bathroom. After he reemerged, he wiped his mouth saying, "C'mon Yuy! Can't ya see I'm dyin' here?"   
  
========================================   
  
When they got to the hospital, Duo was immediately shown to a room. A female doctor came in with a nurse, who went about the task of drawing some blood. Just as they were leaving, the doctor looked back and commented, "Make yourselves comfortable boys, it'll be a little bit before these results come back," and with that, she left.   
  
Taking the invitation to heart, Duo flopped back on the bed, and kicked off his shoes with a large sigh, as Heero dragged a chair over to the side of the bed and sat.   
  
A while later, the doctor came back into the room, looking a little flustered, and a whole lot confused, as she looked at the chart in her hands. "So what's the news doc? Why am I sick? Do I got the flu or some junk?" Duo asked, trying to get the doctors attention.   
  
"Ummmmmmmm..." she replied distractedly as she continued staring at the chart in her hands as if it had bitten her.   
  
"Doctor? What's the matter with my friend?" Heero asked as he approached her, trying to get a look at whatever was on that chart.   
  
"Well ... ummmmmm ... you see ... Mr. Maxwell ... you're ... umm..." she sputtered, staring hard at the chart in her hands, as if trying to change what it said with sheer will power.   
  
"What's the matter doc, cat got your tongue? Spit it out already!" Duo demanded, as he leaned forward on the bed.   
  
The doctor gave the chart one last hard look, then turned to the two boys that were staring at her expectantly, and explained, "Mr. Maxwell, our tests indicate that you are..." looking at the chart one more time, and swallowing, "... pregnant." she concluded.   
  
All of the colour drained from Duo's face, and he almost fell off the bed as he leaned even closer to the doctor to catch her words, "What?!?!" he managed   
  
"All of our tests conclude that you, Mr. Maxwell, are pregnant. Ummmmm ... about 8 weeks along to be exact," she explained.   
  
"Do any of your test's indicate who the father is?" Heero asked   
  
"Ummmmm ..." she replied, flipping a few pages on the chart, "From what our gene banks have determined, the father is ... one Mr. Heero Yuy."   
  
This time it was Heero's turn to go pale as he backed up into his chair and turned towards Duo, "But... I've never touched you..." he said as he sat down unexpectedly in the chair, his knees having given out.   
===================================  
  
[1] This stuff is better than polysporin [sp?] The best stuff on the face of the planet, it works great on everything from nicks, cuts, scratches, burns, bites and rashes. Is this product advertisement or what? .::pouts::. Though you can't get it in Canada, we have to put in an 'order' from my step-brothers to bring some over from England when they visit  
  
============End Part Two============  



	3. Part 3

A moment later, a nurse burst through the door saying, "Doctor! We need you *now*!"   
  
Giving the now silent, and still slightly pale boys a look, the doctor quickly followed the nurse out, "Don't let anyone in exam 3," she told the girl as the door swung shut behind them.   
  
After staring at the closed door for a moment, Duo turned towards Heero, shock and confusion stamped on his features, "Wha ...what?! ....how....?" he sputtered   
  
Heero just stared at him blankly for a moment be fore answering, "I don't know Duo, I just don't know......"   
  
Pulling his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms tightly around them, Duo rested his  
forehead on his knees. Rocking back and forth, and muttering something to himself, Duo thought things through for several minutes before speaking again, "I'm gonna keep the baby, but....." here he lifted his head from his knees and gave Heero a pleading look, "......I wont be able to do it by myself .....I'll need help .....please help me.....?"   
  
Finally knocked out of his stupor by Duo's words, Heero quickly moved from his place in the chair to sit beside Duo on the bed and catching the braided pilot in a fierce hug, "Baka, do you think I would leave you to do this all on your own? *Never* will you be alone through this. Even if I can't be there, the others sure as hell will. Don't worry, everything'll work out," he promised with a tight squeeze before releasing Duo from the hug.   
  
Leaning back against Heero's chest, and closing his eyes when Heero replaced his arm around him, Duo said, "Thank you Heero, I hope you're right,"   
  
========================================  
  
Later, when Duo and Heero returned to the safehouse, Duo went directly to their room, closed the door, and cranked up his stereo system, a clear sign that he did not want to be bothered. This left Heero to explain the situation to the others, who were now all home, and plaguing him with questions.  
  
"Heero, what's wrong? Why did he just go into your room?"   
  
"Yuy, what's Maxwell's problem this time?"   
  
"Something's obviously wrong with him Heero, we want to know. Spill already!"   
  
Having already talked it over with Duo and agreed to tell the others what was going on, Heero explained, "He's pregnant."   
  
This casual statement caused them all to stop mid sentence with their mouths open, and all together chorusing, "Huh?!"   
  
"And I'm the father...... " he muttered looking away.   
  
That comment really blew them away, they all went white, and Quatre had to lean against Trowa for support. After letting the information sink in for a moment, Heero continued with his explanation "Were not sure how, we've got our suspicions, but ........there's not way to find out for sure. Are you guys okay?" he asked as he noticed the others were still looking at him like he'd grown a second head, and looking a little pale.   
  
"Not sure how?! How the hell else do you get pregnant than .....than ....the obvious!?!" Wufei almost yelled, his face turning red.   
  
"I don't know, but I've never even touched him. No matter how much I wanted to, not even a kiss......" he finished his statement in a barely audible whisper, that he thought the others couldn't hear, since he was still facing away from them. Turning back toward them, Heero motioned towards the door, from which blaring music was emanating from, with his hand, "He want's the baby, and so do I, but I'll need your help, I-- ...*we* can't risk losing him. He's to important." With that Heero walked away down the hallway, heading for the den for something to do.   
  
A few minutes later, Heero could hear someone, probably Wufei, banging around in the kitchen  
preparing dinner. As Heero was standing in front of the dilapidated bookshelf looking for something to read, he could sense someone watching him. Turning around, he faced Trowa, who was leaning against the door frame, his one visible green eye focused on him.   
  
"Where's Quatre?" he inquired, noticing the Latino's blonde companion was absent.   
  
Smiling slightly, he replied, "Wufei is trying to teach him how to cook, but I'd bet he'll be chased out of the kitchen by a katana wielding Wufei in about 15 minutes"   
  
"Hn." was the only reply he got from a smirking Heero as he turned back around to study the bookcase again.   
  
"Do you love him?" when Heero spun around with a confused, but mostly startled look, Trowa clarified, "Duo. Do you love him?" when Heero looked away, he continued, "You do, don't you?"  
  
Without raising his head, Heero nodded slightly, with a mumbled, "Yes....."   
  
"I thought as much, and with your comment in the hall earlier...........well, I was curious as to if your relationship with him was ..........more then platonic, I guess that answered my question."   
  
"You heard what I said? And what do you mean 'you thought as much'?" Heero questioned the unibanged pilot.   
  
"I notice, and hear, more than you would think I do. Also, we're not blind, we could see how much you cared for him." Trowa replied, a little smile playing about his lips.   
  
"We? Seems like everybody knows how I feel...." here he gave a humorless laugh "....except Duo."   
  
"I wouldn't bet on that. My guess would be that he knows *exactly* how you feel, he's not as oblivious to what goes on around him as he acts." Trowa observed.   
  
"But if he knows then wh-" Heero's question was cut short when Quatre, who was covered from head to toe in what looked like flour, burst through the door into the den to hide behind Trowa.  
  
"Kisama! Winner, where are you?! Get out here!" Wufei, who was also white from head to toe, roared as he entered to den right on Quatre's heels.  
  
Trying hard not to laugh, Heero looked at Wufei, "What happened to you two? You look like abominable snowmen."  
  
"I told him," Wufei said, pointing to the now white haired Arab, "to open the flour so we could bread some chicken. Instead of cutting off the top, he ripped the whole thing open, it looks like a flash blizzard swept through the kitchen. And look at me! I'll have flour in my hair for days!" he wailed trying to dust some of the white stuff from his head.  
  
"Here Wufei, let me help you," Heero offered as he moved towards the white haired Chinese boy, "If you let it out of the ponytail it'll be easier to get the flour out," he said as he deftly yanked out the tie, allowing Wufei's hair to fall around his shoulders, "Now, bend over and shake your head, and run your fingers through it. You too Quatre," he instructed.  
  
"We're going to have a white carpet now you know, we should have done this outside," the neat freak Arab muttered from his bent position.  
  
"We wouldn't be doing this in the first place if you had used a pair is scissors, instead of trying to impress the flour bag with your strength," Wufei retorted as he straightened himself, and went over to the mirror hanging on the wall to retie his hair.  
  
"C'mon let's go, you and Heero can finish dinner, while me and Quatre clean up the kitchen" Trowa said, as he walked out of the den, towards the hallway. As the others followed, Quatre still dusting flour out of his hair as he went.  
  
============End Part Three============  



End file.
